A police officer in riot gear waits for instructions near the Tunisian ferry MV Carthage on which there were hundreds of would-be illegal immigrants in Valletta Harbour on December 31, 2000. Some 200 Tunisians were found without entry documents when they tried to enter Malta and clashed with police when they were refused entry. Some 70 of them escaped after they rushed the gates. Police fired warning shots to bring the rest under control and get them back on the ship. Police sources say they hoped to land in Malta from where they could be smuggled to Italy.?? OUT

A police officer in riot gear waits for instructions near the Tunisian ferry MV Carthage on which there were hundreds of would-be illegal immigrants in Valletta Harbour on December 31, 2000. Some 200 Tunisians were found without entry documents when they tried to enter Malta and clashed with police when they were refused entry. Some 70 of them escaped after they rushed the gates. Police fired warning shots to bring the rest under control and get them back on the ship. Police sources say they hoped to land in Malta from where they could be smuggled to Italy.?? OUT